Monday, April 19, 2010

jerusalem's first conscious kitchen

the invitation to create a conscious kitchen in jerusalem grew quite naturally from a new learning triad in which i find myself.   we are 3 women of 3 different generations who meet regularly to explore the complexity, paradoxes and possibilities of life. 

on the menu was first of all, a good deal of fresh produce from the Yehuda market, magically transformed into a delectable seasonal meal cooked with the characteristics of Spring.   Secondly, was a process of creating a conscious space in which to eat, share and open the space for new themes and insights to come forward and feed our learning cycle.


on the Food menu
fennel and orange salad with tangy dressing
fresh local veg stirfried with ginger, lemon zest & hijiki seaweed
spelt bread
lemon water with fresh mint

on the Who menu:
judy tal is a hungarian-born israeli, a mathematician by training who courageously stepped out of academia and into a new life of leading leaders in learning.  a real expert, she is creating mathematical models of complexity and self-organizing. a grandmother and second-generation holocaust survivor, she exudes strength and vulnerability. "it is a miracle that i am alive!" a true artist in the truth she speaks about life.  she is almost 60.

jill levenfeld is an LA-born israeli, a peace educator deeply committed to dialogue and co-existence with palestinian children and adults, religious, inter-faith, diverse communities. her full heart and soul are invested in a breath-taking depth of projects with palestinian friends and colleagues. contagious curiosity and boundless energy, jill is honest and generous beyond measure.  she is a proud mother of four children, two of whom are in the army. she is almost 50.

i am the almost-40-year-old.

the What menu:
Check-in 
to become present to each other, asking what is alive in our lives and hearts since the last time we met.
Framing in
 the spirit, intention and practices of the Conscious Kitchen. 
Preparation
in silence 
in the spirit of Radical Amazement a la Schumacher College kitchen which is a way of entering a relationship with the food that is offering itself
(a term coined by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel)
Cooking
the spirit of the season ~ quick cooking, seasonal, local bright foods arranged in bouquets, 
cooling foods
Blessings 
from each of us, in our own way
on the food, and those who grew it, prepared it, 
the land it came from and the miracle of its existence in the first place
Eating with gusto, appreciation and chewing!
Clean-up

the How menu:
 this includes bringing awareness to the cooking & preparation, nutritional content, beauty and aesthetics, rhythms of the seasons, relationships with the food's producers, the vibrations and energetics in our food, our waste to the magic of silence and conversation, sharing our cultures and rituals of blessing and thanks...
Open space 
for a rich conversation on complexity, self-organizing and the body, 
if it is written in the body's dna code to self-organize towards purpose (a bone cell becomes a bone), then do human systems self-organize towards purpose ~ and what is the difference between purpose and self-interest?

fennel and orange salad, cook cuke soup with spicy tomato chutney, 
fresh veg stir-fry with ginger and hijiki



Search This Blog